For the Phoenix Coyotes, Friday marked a day that the organization hoped would catapult it forward to stability in the future. The Glendale City Council voted 4-2 in favor of a deal to keep the team at Jobing.com arena by agreeing to a $325 million lease agreement with former San Jose Sharks executive Greg Jamison. This brings them one step closer to finalizing a deal to keep the team in Glendale for the next 25 years.

The drama of the day came courtesy of the conservative watchdog group the Goldwater Institute, who tried to prevent the City Council meeting from taking place this morning when they filed for a temporary restraining order against the City of Glendale based on not receiving all the proper documents that were part of the lease deal with Jamison’s group. While Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper believed the county did not have the power to stop the vote and therefore let it take place, she did question the legality of the lease deal, which opens up potential litigation against the City of Glendale.

The vote took place, was cast in favor of the Coyotes and many celebrated. But, this was just one of many battles that will need to be fought over the coming months. The Goldwater Institute stated immediately after the vote took place that they will take the lease agreement to court as they feel that many of the details of the lease have been kept private and the people of the City of Glendale will be subjected to hidden taxes that Glendale has not been forthcoming in disclosing to the public.

All in all, a bittersweet day for Coyotes fans. One step closer to stability while another issue rears its ugly head. Stay tuned to see how the next chapter of this saga turns out.

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Written by Michael Jenkins
I was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. Graduated from THE University of Arizona. I now reside part time in San Francisco, CA. I am a diehard Phoenix Coyotes fan (season ticket holder since Day 1) and a diehard Chelsea FC fan. I am passionate, energetic and highly grateful to get the opportunity to work in this business again.